It was only after 1932 that women were allowed to run for general elections in Brazil. In 1934, two women were elected, Carlota Pereira de Queirós and Antonieta de Barros, the latter a black woman. Almost 60 years later, in 1992, the first trans woman was elected City Councilor – Kátia Tapety – and, in 2018, an indigenous woman was elected Federal Deputy – Joênia Wapichana. According to data from the Superior Electoral Court, advances are now being noticed: for instance, a larger number of women ran for elective public offices on the second round of the municipal elections of 2020 than on the second round of 2016. That indicates an increase on the political participation of women and a change on voters’ behavior, who have been seeking more political diversity and representativity.

If, on the one hand, we may observe some advances, on the other hand we know there has been an increase in the cases of political violence. Aggressions, threats, disinformation campaigns, bullying and sexual harassment are just a few examples of the incidents of violence reported by women who take part on national politics. 

Although any person can be subjected to political violence, it is worth highlighting that, when directed to women, this phenomenon has a particularity: the gender. According to MonitorA, an online political violence observatory conducted by InternetLab and AzMina magazine, women suffer more attacks for being who they are – or who they were supposed to be. Attacks directed to women, consequently, aim at the fact that they are women.

Facing this scenario, in the year in which we celebrate 90 years of the enactment of the Decree n. 21.076/1932 – that authorized Brazilian women to take part on the electoral process for the first time –, InternetLab and Redes Cordiais launch the document “Women in Politics: a Guide to Fighting Gender Political Violence”.

The guide is part of the project “Women in Politics”, supported by Google and the US Embassy and Consulate in Brazil. Its goal is to guide women who hold or intend to hold public office in 2022 and/or in the following years, as well as anyone interested on the theme and who is willing to collectively come up with solutions to this problem.

Context of production

Throughout the months of November and December, 2021, we carried out interviews with representatives of five Brazilian institutions dedicated to the promotion and protection of women and LGBTQIA+ groups: Alziras Institute, Marielle Franco Institute, Casa 1, Mulheres Negras Decidem and Vote LGBT.

Based on the outcomes of the interviews and on quantitative and qualitative research made by InternetLab and other institutions, we identified the main obstacles to tackling gender political violence and, consequently, to the access and permanence of women in politics. These and other themes integrate the guide’s content, which discusses the following questions:

[1] What is political violence;

[2] What are the consequences of political violence;

[3] Who can be victimized by it;

[4] How to identify if I was a victim or if I witnessed a case of political violence;

[5] Online and offline political violence: differences and similarities;

[6] What the law states about cases of political violence;

[7] What is the importance of reporting;

[8] How to report;

[9] How can my party and other representatives support me; and

[10] How can I support a victim of political violence, as well as materials with the main legal framework and where to report.

Next steps

As a part of the project. InternetLab and Redes Cordiais will carry out in May and June a series of online workshops about the theme. The series will begin this Wednesday (25th) at 4:00 p.m., with the webinar “Concrete impacts of gender political violence”, that will count on the participation of the educator and São Paulo State Representative Erica Malunguinho, and of Anielle Franco, educator, journalist and executive director at Marielle Franco Institute. The event will be facilitated by Fernanda K. Martins, director at InternetLab.

In the following week, between May 30th and June 3rd, 4 video classes will be released: “Reporting channels” (with Mariana Bazzo, Public Prosecutor at the Public Ministry of the State of Parana), “Digital security” (with Ester Borges, coordinator of information and politics at InternetLab), “Disinformation and political violence” (with Gabriela de Almeida Pereira, communications analyst for the area of Leadership and Political Participation at UN Women Brazil), and “Haters and political violence” (with Bárbara Libório, journalism manager at AzMina magazine and creator of Elas no Congresso).

On June 6th, at 4:00 p.m., we will carry on with the webinar “Barriers and tools for reporting”, that will count on the participation of Gabriela Manssur, lawyer and creator of Justiça de Saia Institute. Clara Becker, founder of Redes Cordiais, will be the facilitator of this webinar.

After that, on June 7th, at 4:00 p.m., Roberta Eugênio, lawyer and co-director of Alziras Institute, and Melina Risso, research director of Igarapé Institute, will discuss about “Gender political violence: history and context”. Mariana Valente, director at InternetLab, will be the facilitator.

Follow InternetLab’s and Redes Cordiais’s social media for more information about these and other activities of the project “Women in Politics”.

Access the full text of the material “Women in Politics: Guide to Fighting Gender Political Violence”, available in Portuguese here.